Thankful that cardiac care has come to fruition

July 18, 2013

Regarding "I was supposed to die" (The Maui News, July 11): I too was supposed to die.

Not my time, maybe so, but I feel that I was in the right place at the right time thanks to being in the San Francisco airport with a cardiac care hospital just across the freeway. I too would have died along with the many people on Maui who couldn't get immediate care because it wasn't available here.

I suffered 13 cardiac arrests and lived thanks to an experienced cardiac nurse and cardiologist at the Mills-Peninsula Hospital. Without the immediate care that I received I wouldn't have survived my first cardiac arrest. If then on Maui, chances are I would be one of Maui's many statistics: "Couldn't get adequate medical attention in time."

I've been told one too many times, "Not enough people on Maui to afford or justify a cardiac care unit."

I would like to express my thanks to Maui Memorial Medical Center's Wesley Lo, Dr. Colin Lee, Dr. Michael Dang and others for making the Cardiac Care Unit come to fruition. I feel that I can speak for Judge Richard Bissen and the many others that you saved: Thank you being here when it counted.